Roofing tool



May 25, 1937- F. J. cARoNlA 2,081,735

ROOFING TOOL Filed Deo. 9, 1935 TTORNEYS Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT/'OFFICE ROOFING TOOL Frank J. Caronia, New Hyde Park, N. Y.

Application December 9, 1935, Serial No. 53,554

` `3 Claims.

This invention relates. to a roong tool for facilitating the laying of roofs of the type which include a plastic material and sheets of roofing paper or equivalent sheet material arranged with 5 the edges thereof in overlapped relation.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice to utilize an ordinary trowel or short handled spreading tool for spreading the plastic material. In addition to rendering the task unnecessarily 1D laborious by requiring the operator tov work on his knees, this practice has been open to the objection that such tools are not provided with any means for gaging a width of the plastic material which approximates the width of the overl lapping of the roofing sheets.

The present invention broadly comprehends an improved rooiing tool including a blade which is so constructed and arranged as to provide means for gaglng and limiting the application of 20 the plastic material to a predetermined width corresponding to the width of the overlapping of the roofing sheets.

The invention furthermore comprehends an improved roofing tool of the indicated character 25 which includes a blade having a handle of such a length that the operator may manipulate the same from a standing position.

Other objects of the invention are to provide. an

improved roofng tool which is: comparatively 30 simple in its construction and mode of use, inexpensive to produce and which is highly efficient for its intended purpose.

With the above recited and other objects in view, reference is made to the following specifi- 35 cation and accompanying drawing in which there is disclosed one embodiment of the invention, while the appended claims cover variations and modifications which fall within the scope of the invention. f

40 In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a roofing tool constructed in accordance with the. invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view illustrating the tool in use.

45 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary forward face view thereof illustrating the tool in use.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, the tool includes a blade I preferably fashioned from sheet metal or an equivalent o material which has secured centrally thereto and projecting therefrom perpendicular to the plane of said blade, a handle II of a sufcient length that the operator may manipulate thetool from a standing position. The opposite ends of the 55 blade are provided with angularly disposed paralle] flanges I2 extending in a direction opposite to that which the handle II extends and said flanges are preferably karranged in planes at a right angle to the plane of ithe main body of the blade IIl, whilethe flanges are of a height approx- 5 imately one-half the height of the blade l. The edges I3 of the flanges are inclined from ,their juncture with the main body of the blade I0 to their outer free ends I4 so that when the toolisarranged in the position shown in Fig. l, the edges I3 which are disposed downwardly will contact with the roof, while the main body of the blade will be tilted or canted forwardly. 'Ihe edge l5 of the mainv body of the blade is rabbeted or recessed as at I6 adjacent the opposite ends for a l5 purpose which will be hereinafter set forth. The opposite edge I'I defines a straight line continuous with terminals I8 which extend laterally beyond thev outer side faces of the iianges I2.

While the tool may be employed in varying manners for spreading the plastic material A over the roof B in accordance with the dictates of the various operators, the manner of using the same, which is proposed, is to invert the same from the position shown in Fig. l to dispose the long continuous edge I1 downwardly in applying the first coat of plastic A to the roof B. After the first layer of plastic material A has been applied to the roof, the lower or inner layers C of roofing paper are applied over the plastic sheets of thev lower or inner layer of roofing paper in overlapped relation. A second layer of plastic material A is then spread over the inner or lower layers C of roofing paper and the upper or outer layers of roofing paper D which are to constitute the finished surface of the roof are then applied. Before an adjacent sheet or strip of the roong material D is overlapped on the preceding one, the plastic material is applied to the edge of the preceding sheet or strip D of a width to corespond approximately to the width of the overlap and for this purpose the tool is inverted to the position shown in Fig. 1 thereby disposing the rabbeted edge I 5 downwardly. A batch of plastic is positioned on the roof and the operator places the blade IG in rear of the batch and engages the shoulder S, formed at the juncture of the rabbeted portion i6 with the remainder of the edge I5, in contact with the edge of the rooiing paper strip D. The tool is then moved along the length of the roofing paper D maintaining the shoulder S in contact with the edge of the strip D to spread the plastic over the portion of said strip D adjacent the edge which is to be overlapped by the succeeding strip. The flange l2 serves to conne the plastic which is being spread to a Width which will approximate the overlap so that when the succeeding nishing strip D is applied in overlapped relation, the line of plastic will act as a guide when unrolling the paper or equivalent sheet roong material whereby the edge of said succeeding strip will coincide approximately with the previously applied plastic. This will not only insure against waste of the plastic and a parallel application of the upper nishing strips` D, but will eliminate unsightly quantities of plastic extending beyond the edge of the overlap.

The longitudinal edge l1 of the blader I0 may also be employed for the purpose of scraping and dislodging pebbles from an old roof which has previously been applied where it is desired to remove the same before applying the new roofing, and the laterally extending terminals I8 may be utilized for spreading the plastic in corners and under overhanging structures which would otherwise be inaccessible.

What is claimed is:

l. A roofing tool including a iiat blade having a lower longitudinal edge adapted for contact with the roof and an upwardly recessed portion at one end of said lower longitudinal edge thereof defining a guide shoulder and an angularly disposed flange at said en'd of the blade.

2. A rooiing tool including a iiat blade having a lower longitudinal edge adapted for contact with the roof and an upwardly recessed portion at one end of said lower longitudinal edge thereof dening a guide shoulder and an angularly disposed flange at said end of the blade, said flange having an outwardly inclined edge oontinuous with the recessed portion of the longitudinal edge of the blade.

3. A rooiing tool comprising a ilat rectangular blade having a handle extending from the oenter of one surface thereof and perpendicular to said surface, angularly disposed flanges at the opposite ends of said blade extending in a direction opposite to that of the handle, said flanges each having a lower edge forming a continuation of said longitudinal edge of the blade body and which lower edges are inclined outwardly from their juncture with said longitudinal edge to the outer free edge of the flange, and said longitudinal edge of the blade body being rabbeted adjacent its opposite ends to `deine guide shoulders spaced from the anges.

FRANK J. CARONIA. 

